This is provided as requested above by @Mark_Sealey. At least, I think this is what was requested. I had to put this together for someone else, so I’ll just copy it here. My original writeup had screen shots, but those aren’t easily transferred to the forum. Hopefully the text alone is enough.
Setting up an Network Share folder for Roon Backups
Instructions are based on MacOS Sonoma 14.2.1
In a perfect world, one could connect a small SSD drive to a machine running Roon Core (e.g., Roon Nucleus) and use that drive for backups, but for some Roon devices, e.g., Grimm MU2 with its read-only USB port, that may not be possible.
It’s always best practice to backup Roon to a device separate from the device running your Roon Core. If the Roon Core device were to have a catastrophic failure, you’ll also lose your backups, along with your meticulously curated music library.
Note that with the following instructions, If you have a Mac on the network that is running all the time, such as a desktop Mac, you can set Roon for automatic backups on a scheduled basis using this method. But, if you have a MacBook that is not constantly open and running, you should initiate backups manually. If you do backup manually, you should keep an eye on the backup folder, as older backups will not automatically be purged. (!)
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On the Mac targeted for backups, use Finder to create a new folder for Roon backups. In this case, I’ll use a folder called RoonBackups2 on the Desktop. (Full path: Macintosh HD/users/Rob/Desktop/RoonBackups2)
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Under System Settings → General → Sharing, toggle File Sharing on.
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Now, click the “i” button next to the toggle on the File Sharing line.
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Ensure that File Sharing: On is displayed.
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Click the + under Shared Folders, then select the RoonBackups2 folder to add to the list of shared folders.
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Very important: Click Options…, then toggle Share Files and Folder using SMB to On. Under Windows File Sharing, ensure that your username is entered and checked on, and that you’ve entered your password for that username. If you omit this step, Roon will not be able to connect to the shared folder.
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Go to System Settings → WiFi and next to your network name, click Details.
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Determine your IP address for the Mac where you’ll be backing up, in this case it’s 192.168.1.149. Perhaps write it down.
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In Roon → Settings → Backups, choose Backup Now by clicking the Backup button on the right side.
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On the Manual Backup screen, click Select Location
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Click + Add Network Share
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For Add Network Share, enter \\192.168.1.149\RoonBackups2. Alternatively, you can use the syntax smb://192.168.1.149/RoonBackups2. Provide the username on the Mac, along with your password. (Remember to use your IP address, username, and password.) Click Add network share
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After a moment, you should see the new Network Share folder displayed as a possible backup location.Highlight the new folder and click Select This Folder and follow prompts to begin your backup.
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After backing up, use Finder to select the new folder and ensure that Roon has placed backup files in that location.